‘No board failure on my watch,’ Nolan says

Kisiah W. Nolan has only been on the Jackson School District Board of Trustees for four months, and she has already risen to rank of president.

In a unanimous vote during Tuesday, April 20, meeting, Nolan was elected to the post.

The Mississippi Link talked with Nolan just before press time and asked her what students, parents and teachers can expect under her leadership? “They can expect total commitment to the boys and girls of the district,” Nolan said. “My main focus is academics. Our children must excel academically in order to compete in this global society.”

Nolan said her leadership style will be one of inclusiveness. “Each individual board member brings various gifts and talents to the table, and under my leadership, their gifts and talents will be utilized to benefit children,” she explained.

Although she is fairly new to the school board, Nolan expressed that she is not intimidated by the tasks ahead of her. “I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge,” she said. “Not on my watch do I expect there to be failure of the board. I expect a lot of myself, and therefore, I expect the same of others.”

She said she already feels the “same strong sense of commitment” from her fellow board members. “I just talked to Mrs. Love before your call. She has several children in the district, so I know she has a vested interest in the board’s success.

During Tuesday’s meeting, newly confirmed board member Monica Gilmore-Love was unanimously elected vice president, and Dr. George Schimmel, unanimously elected board secretary. 

Nolan and Schimmel were both appointed in late November 2009, and began serving after taking the oath of office in December 2009.

Gilmore-Love and former city administrator Otha Burton were appointed and confirmed less than a month ago. All but one of the five members of the JPS Board of Trustees are new. Senior board member Ivory Phillips, who was appointed during former Mayor

Frank Melton’s administration, just completed a term as vice president.

Nolan, a Greenville, Miss. native and product of public schools, stressed that Jackson residents need not be concerned about the board’s newness. “They can be assured that we will be dedicated to the working intricacies of the board,” she said.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., who appointed Nolan, told The Mississippi Link that, “Mrs. Nola has many proven years as an educator and administrator. This will certainly bode well in her new role as board president.”